1950s/early 60s photographs

Some years ago I bought a box of colour prints online. They all have date and location details on the reverse, but no clue to the original photographer. I have also accumulated a number of b/w negatives from the 1950s, early 1960s, and a few from the late 1940s which show long withdrawn classes of locomotives.

Many were taken by enthusiasts with simple cameras, and are of far lower quality than today’s digital results. However, this is a site for enthusiast notes, so why not include the shots they took at the same time?

I will post newly scanned (mainly b/w) images at the top of this page, but in no particular date/location order.

No details with this negative either, but it could be on Stoke Bank in Lincolnshire. The date appears to be circa 1957 given the tender emblem and the occasional crimson/cream coach. The locomotive is Gresley pacific 60008 ‘Dwight D Eisenhower’, and appear to be heading uphill judging by the exhaust.

Stanier 4-6-2 46203 ‘Princess Margaret Rose’ is at Camden shed on August 2nd 1950. The locomotive has BR numbers but is paired with a tender still sporting LMS lettering. Another of the ‘box brownie’ shots from a shed visit.

I have no details as to the location or date of this image of D class 4-4-0 31737, but it might be Reading South.

A box brownie shot of E2 0-6-2T 32493 at Nine Elms shed on August 2nd 1950.

C2X 0-6-0 32526 is seen at Norwood Junction in 1950

Royal Scot 4-6-0 46147 ‘The Northamptonshire Regiment’ passes Badnall Wharf on March 1st 1959.

0-6-0 J11 class 64420 is seen at Manchester Victoria with an RCTS special on 23/9/61. The tour included many Manchester and Cheshire locations, and even ventured into Staffordshire for a time with a leg from Uttoxeter to Leek. 64420 only took the train to Northenden via Guide Bridge and Stockport Tiviot Dale. (Tour details from 6 Bells Junction).

Not a high quality photo, I’m afraid. Gas turbine A1A-A1A no 18000 arrives at Paddington in the 1950s. Later, the locomotive had BR green livery with an orange stripe. Although rated at 2500hp, it was very expensive to operate, as gas turbines are most efficient on full power which was only possible for short periods on the WR at that time.

I think this is somewhere in Scotland during the early 1960s. The initial batch of Swindon DMUs had a full drivers cab at one end and a corridor connection at the other with a half width cab. This enabled the units to be run as either 3 or 6 car configurations. This particular set appears to have a substitute centre car. I am not sure how effective the small yellow warning panel was on this type.

Ex-LNER F4 2-4-2T 67187 is seen in storage at an unknown location. First impressions would suggest Cambridge, as the locomotive sports a 31A shed plate. However, these shed codes were introduced in January 1950, and according to my copy of Longworth 67187 was never allocated to Cambridge after that date.

Electric suburban EMU 056 is at Glasgow Central in the early 1960s, and is passing an EE type 4 on a train for England. The unit is in as delivered livery of Caledonian Blue with yellow and black lining.

Standard 5MT 4-6-0 73038 passes through Cardiff General at around 3:25pm according to the station clock. The locomotive has an 84K shed plate, which dates the photograph to between 1953 and 1958, although given the lack of cleanliness I would say more likely to be the latter year. 73038 was new in 1953, and managed 12 years service before withdrawal came in 1965.

I am assuming this is in the Sunderland area, because of the advertising hoarding. Standard 9F 2-10-0 92097 has charge of empty coal wagons. 92097 was a Tyne Dock locomotive and so this is not out of the ordinary. A few vintage signals can be seen

The destination blind on this Swindon dmu (class 120) would suggest the location is on the Taunton to Minehead branch. The signal post has lost its arm, which would indicate the late 1960s before BR closed the line.

To me, this location looks like the western end of High Wycombe station, with a 2-6-2T (probably 61xx) heading a local train, most likely to Princes Risborough.

There are no details with this negative, but County class 4-6-0 ‘County of Radnor’ was a Shrewsbury based locomotive through much of the 1950s. The single lamp indicates a local service.

Vincent Raven designed Q6 0-8-0 63342 is at (I think) Borough Gardens shed in 1952.

A rather curiously exposed photo of J52 0-6-0T 68785 at Hornsey in 1951.

Enthusiasts railtour Cromford & High Peak style. A pair of J92 0-6-0Ts are seen somewhere along the line between High Peak Junction and Parsley Hay.

Here is the SLS “Land O’Burns” railtour on May 9th 1959. The tour ran from Ayr (thanks – SixBellsJunction) around part of the coalfield area to Catrine and Muirkirk, before returning to Ayr. The tour locomotive was Fowler 2P 4-4-0 40574.

Fowler 0-6-0T Dock Tank 47162 may be withdrawn in this photo, which would date it as 1960. The location is probably Edinburgh St Margarets (64A) where the locomotive was allocated throughout the 1950s.

J6 0-6-0 64206 is at Hitchin in this mid-50s view. The locomotive appears to be out of use, but moved to New England in 1960, from where it was withdrawn in September of that year.

I believe this to be A2 pacific 60528 ‘Tudor Minstrel’ on The Waverley Railtour at Carlisle – 11th December 1965. The tour started at Birmingham New St, and 60528 worked the Carlisle to Edinburgh leg.

Adams G6 0-6-0T 30162 is pictured on Bournemouth shed in 1954.

Raven Q7 0-8-0 63471 at Blaydon in the mid-1950s

Reid C16 4-4-2T 67484 is seen at Dundee on August 3rd 1958.

WD 2-10-0 90767 is seen at Carlisle Kingmoor shed on August 27th 1950. Initially numbered 73791 the locomotive had been stored since nationalisation but had recently been overhauled and allocated to Carlisle. Many years were spent working from Polmadie, before withdrawal from Motherwell at the end of 1962.

A view of Corfe Mullen on July 4th in the hot, but thundery, summer of 1959. Standard class 4 2-6-0 76028 is heading for Broadstone, and although appears to be running wrong line, the two tracks were separate single line branches, with the right hand one going to Wimborne Minster.

A less than perfect image of Churchward 4-6-0 4052 “Princess Beatrice” at Newton Abbot on April 11th 1950. The negative packet says this is a service to Wolverhampton, which would fit as 4052 was allocated to Shrewsbury at that time.

Drummond 0-6-0 30695 is seen here at Bournemouth on September 7th 1950 with Southern lettering on the tender. A Bournemouth based locomotive for many years, although withdrawn from Eastleigh at the end of 1962.

Robinson designed L3 GCR 2-6-4T 69060 is seen at Cambridge on May 28th 1954, along with a line of other locomotives heading to Stratford for scrap. In BR days this engine spent many years at Neasden, although prior to this photo it had a year at Frodingham.

For a photo taken inside an engine shed during the early 1960s, this has turned out remarkably well. This is said to be Parkhead shed with J36 0-6-0 in residence. A few of this class were named, but not this one.

It is a shame that cheap film cameras of the past did not have great lenses, but on a spotting trip around various depots just pointing the camera at various locomotives was the norm. No one knew how the prints would turn out until weeks later. At York in the early 1960s K1 62002 is seen alongside a uid 9F. Not perfect quality, but you can get the impression.

Y5 0-4-0ST 68118 appears to be withdrawn in this 1958 photo from the Edinburgh area. Also waiting to be towed away for scrap is J88 0-6-0T 68339.

A box brownie image of J72 69017 at Darlington in 1960.

Three locomotives are seen outside Scarborough shed in 1951. The nearest two are A8 4-6-2Ts but the third one is possibly a V1 2-6-2T from Middlesbrough. The only number I can read is the first one, which is 69886.

The crew of Q1 0-8-0T locomotive 69926 pose for the camera at March, on April 14th 1949.

S1 0-8-4T locomotives 69902 and 69904 are seen outside Mexborough shed in 1951. This small class of just six locomotives tended to be moved around between there and Doncaster, Frodingham and Immingham sheds in BR days, before withdrawal came in the middle of the decade.

E17363M and E25002M are seen in Tilbury carriage sidings on March 15th 1953.

Inside Edge Hill shed on April 21st 1951; and Beames ex-LNWR 0-8-4T locomotive 47931 is seen, with ex-LYR Aspinall 0-6-0ST 51353 behind. A small number of the 0-8-4s survived into BR ownership, but most didn’t last very long. 47931 being withdrawn at the end of that year. 51353 fared somewhat better and was active at 8A until the summer of 1957.

ex-LNWR Webb 2F ‘Coal Tank’ 0-6-2T 58900 is seen here at what I believe to be Birmingham New Street in 1952. This locomotive had many allocations, but for a couple of years was shedded at 3A Monument Lane.

Kentish Town shed on February 23rd 1950. On the left is Johnson ex-MR 0-6-0 58229, whilst to the right is 2-6-2T 40114. The horizontal line across the image is an intermittent fault on my scanner. This is from a purchased negative of the Henry Casserley collection, which were auctioned after his death. I couldn’t afford many, but managed to purchase a few. Note how his excellent composition has provided a glimpse outside to the other loco shed buildings.

5065 ‘Newport Castle’ speeds through Southall with a westbound passenger train on October 25th 1959.

L1 2-6-4T 67764 at Whitby West Cliff on a local passenger service in May 1958.

BR Standard 2-6-0 76011 heads a local passenger train near Cole in Somerset on June 19th 1959.

King Arthur class 4-6-0 30452 ‘Sir Meliagrance’ at Exeter Central on June 29th 1957.

0-6-0 57667 on Oban shed in July 1959.

ex-LMS pacific 46232 ‘Duchess Of Montrose’ outside Crewe Works after an overhaul in March 1959. (Sadly, at this time the loco had just over three and a half years to go).